It is indispensable to keep watching rapid developments of the high-tech industry worldwide.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

No. 863: Technology development for the age of fuel cell vehicles is in progress (2/5) (January 2, 2015)

Technology:The Japanese government will
deregulate the construction of a hydrogen station to support energy companies
involved in the spread of hydrogen stations. It plans to increase the number of
hydrogen stations to 100 within 2015. A hydrogen station can store hydrogen for
the amount required by up to 7 fuel cell vehicles at present, but it is
planning to eliminate this barrier by increasing the compression rate of
hydrogen. It will also simplify the security standard of compressor and
decrease the distance between the filling machine and the pubic road from the
present at least 8 km to at least 4 km. Replying to the deregulation, companies
concerned are announcing their plans to prepare for the age of fuel cell
vehicles.

Plans to
open convenience stores with a hydrogen station inside the premises

Taiyo Nippon Sanso's Hydro Shuttle

Taiyo Nippon Sanso has developed a
mobile hydrogen station to reduce the construction cost of a hydrogen station
to the level of 100 million yen. The mobile hydrogen station is named Hydro
Shuttle, and the company plans to supply the Hydro Shuttle to 300 gas station operators
toward 2025. It will shortly establish a company to operate the Hydro Shuttle
in alliance with Toyota Tsusho and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing. Seven
Eleven Japan will open convenience stores with a hydrogen station inside the
premises in alliance with Iwatani Corp. They will open a convenience store of
this kind in Tokyo and Aichi Prefecture and open a total of 20 convenience
stores of this kind by 2017.

JX
Nippon Oil and Energy opened its first hydrogen station last December where 1
kg of hydrogen is sold for 1,000 yen. A Toyota’s Mirai can travel up to 700 km
with 5 kg of hydrogen. The price of 1,000 yen per 1 kg is below cost, but the
company reckons that the business will become profitable if a hydrogen station
receives a total of 2,000 customers daily.